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I’ll admit, when I first started using gold leaf in my art 10 years ago, I was intimidated. It’s so delicate and requires a steady hand and what if I messed up a painting that I loved in the process? The good news is that once you play with this medium a bit, and learn to work with its fragility, it’s actually quite a fun and forgiving material to add to your work. If I can offer any caution about gold leaf at all, it would be to use is moderation. If you’re anything like me, shiny, glimmering things draw you in; however, I try to temper my inner magpie and remember that a little goes a long way. Gold leaf can go from a lovely accent to a stage-stealing drama queen pretty quickly. So enjoy this intro video and please hit me up with any questions! I’ll do my best to answer them.

Adhesive Size - This is the quick drying glue that you’ll apply to your painting prior to laying down the leaf. I use Mona Lisa Adhesive Size. This comes in the Speedball kit so no need to purchase if you go that route.

As I was putting this list together, I noticed that Speedball also makes an adhesive size pen! I haven’t tried it but trust me it’s in my Amazon cart right now!

A hard bristle paint brush. Quality is not important here. This brush will be used to press the leaf into the canvas and remove excess leaf.